The New York City Planning Commission on Monday, Oct. 29, approved plans to redevelop the Bedford-Union Armory in Crown Heights. Anthony Hogrebe, senior vice president of public affairs at the NYC Economic Development Commission, commented following the approval: “As we move to transform the historic Bedford-Union Armory into a world-class recreation center and much-needed housing, we will continue to work with Council member [Laurie] Cumbo and other stakeholders to ensure this project serves the Crown Heights community.”

Indeed, the plans have not sat well with many in the community. Ben Foldy, writing in BKLYNER just a few days before the approval, noted that “neighbors sense an inevitability to a project some feel has ignored their concerns.”

Plans for the 542,000-square-foot complex include a recreation center, office space for community organizations, 330 rental units, and 60 condos. A portion of the rental units are to be designated affordable housing, but as in other neighborhoods, the definition of affordable has left some residents scratching their heads as to just who will be able to afford to rent the apartments.

Plans call for 166 of the rental units to be affordable as determined by the Area Median Income, which combines the median incomes of New York City and the surrounding counties. 99 of those affordable units would go to households making up to 110 percent of AMI, or $94,400 for a family of three. This rankles community groups like Movement to Protect the People and New York Communities for Change, as the most recent American Community Survey estimates the neighborhood’s median household income at $41,984.

The District 9 Community Board voted unanimously against developer BFC Partners’ proposal last June, but the plans went forward to the planning commission all the same.

Michael Liburd, chair of the board’s land use committee, was frustrated. “Why are they presenting the same plan when the community, based on a wide variety of people, would like to see something else?” said Liburd, 46. “It’s ridiculous that we’re in this situation.”

Area residents were mostly resigned to changes in the neighborhood. Go to BKLYNER to read how others viewed the plan.

As the White House urged Congress to withhold $600 million in nutrition assistance to Puerto Rico, officials responded angrily that this is only the latest in a series of President Trump’s attempts to stop the flow of federal aid to the island, El Nuevo Día reports. Political analyst Domingo Emanuelli found the Trump government's actions “barbaric,” and urged Puerto Rican Republicans to reconsider their allegiance. San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz said: “I shouted against Trump’s abuses from the start while others were chummy with him. Trump is not the plantation owner and we are not his slaves.” Link to original story →

The Indigenous Peoples March being held in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 18, a day ahead of the Women's March, will bring together groups from Puerto Rico to South America and Central America, reports Remezcla, to focus attention on issues from voter suppression to human trafficking to police brutality to what is called an “environmental holocaust” by activists. “I think it’s a collective cry for help because we’re in a time of crisis that we have not seen in a very long time,” says Nathalie Farfan, an Ecuadorean Indigenous woman and event organizer. Link to original story →

After vowing to create a more inclusive school system in North Carolina, the Durham Board of Education introduced a new department of second language services to serve newly-arrived immigrants who don’t speak English as a first language, Qué Pasa Noticias reports. One of the main goals of the initiative will be to coordinate a translation and interpretation system to help families participate in their children’s education. “As our Latinx population keeps growing we keep opening our schools’ doors to those arriving from all over the world,” said Superintendent Pascal Mubenga. Link to original story →

With Sen. Kamala Harris expected to announce her decision on a presidential run, The American Bazaar asks members of the Indian-American community about the potential candidacy of the California native. While some celebrated the possibility of Harris, who is of Jamaican-Indian descent, running amid the current political atmosphere, others say the country is "still not ready for a female president and certainly not a non-white." Link to original story →